John H. Carroll's Blog
May 15, 2012
Why an illustrated edition?
Why? Because illustrations are awesome!
Plus, it's a children's book, albeit for demented children. All children's books should be illustrated. All children should be illustrated. That's why they draw on themselves all the time, right?
Why illustrate "The Emo Bunny that Should"?
Why? Because emo bunnies are awesome!
This is also my most popular story and the first of the Demented Children series. It lends itself well to illustrations and the ones that have been included are absolutely beautiful. They capture the emotions of Emo and all the other woodland creatures perfectly.
Why choose Arlene Rose to illustrate and who the heck is Arlene Rose anyway?
Hey! One question at a time. Sheesh!
Arlene Rose is a childhood friend of my wife's. She's a wonderful person and has crazy talent that appears to have been hidden away from the rest of us. Here is a little more info about her:
Arlene Rose is a freelance artist out of Houston. She is a stay at home mom to three and a fairly decent housewife to one. To her everything is art and art is everything. Nothing you can see, hear, taste or touch exist without some form of artistic expression and she loves to work and play in every medium life and the world has to offer because she believes art isn't a learned thing, it is practical and yet wildly eccentric, it's a way of being...it's a matter of being born.
What is "The Emo Bunny that Should" about?
If I had known that there was going to be a quiz today, I would have stayed in bed. Egads!
The story is about an emo bunny that . . . should. Umm . . . Emo is a sad bunny that lives in a coffin and enjoys . . . ummm . . . prefers rainy days. (He doesn't really enjoy anything) Anyway, one day he gets involved, which, if you've ever gotten involved in anything, you know is a terrible idea. So there's this Easter Bunny guy, and a factory and lots of little oppressed woodland creature and a cute girl bunny named Haylo.
That's what the story is about.
What in the world is wrong with you, Mr. Carroll?
Hey! Be nice.
Will there be other illustrated Stories for Demented Children?
Duh! Of course.
Arlene Rose is currently working on "Zachary Zombie and the Lost Boy". I believe she is a natural artist who has a desire . . . no, a need to find an outlet for that art. :) (don't tell her I said that! (Ignore the fact that she'll read this blog)) It is my hope that we are able to create many more children's books together and possibly even find prosperity by doing so. (Prosperity is a sneaky little ninja that likes to hide)
Seriously, what's wrong with you, Mr. Carroll?
That's it! I'm done. Goodbye!
Why? Because illustrations are awesome!
Plus, it's a children's book, albeit for demented children. All children's books should be illustrated. All children should be illustrated. That's why they draw on themselves all the time, right?
Why illustrate "The Emo Bunny that Should"?
Why? Because emo bunnies are awesome!
This is also my most popular story and the first of the Demented Children series. It lends itself well to illustrations and the ones that have been included are absolutely beautiful. They capture the emotions of Emo and all the other woodland creatures perfectly.
Why choose Arlene Rose to illustrate and who the heck is Arlene Rose anyway?
Hey! One question at a time. Sheesh!
Arlene Rose is a childhood friend of my wife's. She's a wonderful person and has crazy talent that appears to have been hidden away from the rest of us. Here is a little more info about her:
Arlene Rose is a freelance artist out of Houston. She is a stay at home mom to three and a fairly decent housewife to one. To her everything is art and art is everything. Nothing you can see, hear, taste or touch exist without some form of artistic expression and she loves to work and play in every medium life and the world has to offer because she believes art isn't a learned thing, it is practical and yet wildly eccentric, it's a way of being...it's a matter of being born.
What is "The Emo Bunny that Should" about?
If I had known that there was going to be a quiz today, I would have stayed in bed. Egads!
The story is about an emo bunny that . . . should. Umm . . . Emo is a sad bunny that lives in a coffin and enjoys . . . ummm . . . prefers rainy days. (He doesn't really enjoy anything) Anyway, one day he gets involved, which, if you've ever gotten involved in anything, you know is a terrible idea. So there's this Easter Bunny guy, and a factory and lots of little oppressed woodland creature and a cute girl bunny named Haylo.
That's what the story is about.
What in the world is wrong with you, Mr. Carroll?
Hey! Be nice.
Will there be other illustrated Stories for Demented Children?
Duh! Of course.
Arlene Rose is currently working on "Zachary Zombie and the Lost Boy". I believe she is a natural artist who has a desire . . . no, a need to find an outlet for that art. :) (don't tell her I said that! (Ignore the fact that she'll read this blog)) It is my hope that we are able to create many more children's books together and possibly even find prosperity by doing so. (Prosperity is a sneaky little ninja that likes to hide)
Seriously, what's wrong with you, Mr. Carroll?
That's it! I'm done. Goodbye!
April 24, 2012
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This is how I make my table of contents for Smashwords and Amazon. If you would like to see how they work, you can download my first novel “Rojuun” for free. (links at the bottom of this tutorial)
I would like to note that this is how I do it, but there is another way that uses styles to create different types of chapter headings, but it’s not something I’ve had success with. I’d say there’s more than one way to skin a cat, but that’s just mean and my children will beat me up if I do. This is a tutorial on how I do it.
Table of Contents
Here is a screenshot of what my hyperlinked table of contents looks like in my first novel. As you can see, all the chapters have the blue, underlined hyperlinky effect. (That is the official term)
You may notice that it says “Compatibility Mode” at the top of the document. Smashwords doesn’t play well with Word 2007 and 2010, so I save everything as a Word 97-2003 document. I’m using Word 2010, but I originally did this with Word 2003. The process is the same, but Word 2010 has that ribbon thingy Bill Gates is so proud of at the top.
I like the left aligned table as shown here. You could center it if you like, it’s a personal choice. You’ll notice that I have my maps on there too. If you have maps, I highly recommend it.
Okay, so now we get to how to make all of this.
Make a Table of Contents.
We’ll start with this:
Nothing is hyperlinked, just written out.
Bookmarks
The first thing you want to do is create a bookmark. Select “Table of Contents” and then go to your ‘Insert’ tab. Click on ‘Bookmark’ in that ribbon:
and you will get a screen like this:
Type in ref_TOC Then click “Add” It is important to name it exactly that, because that’s what Smashwords Meatgrinder looks for. I have this in all of my books with a table of contents.
Okay, the next thing you want to do is make a chapter 1. We’ll make it 16pt font, centered and bold.
Now it’s time to bookmark “Chapter 1” Do it exactly the same way, but let’s name it roj_chap1. The ‘roj’ stands for rojuun. The ‘_’ is because you can’t use spaces in bookmarks. The ‘chap1” is because it’s chapter 1. The reason I name it ‘roj_chap1’ instead of just ‘chapter1’ is because “Rojuun” is the first book of a trilogy. I sell an omnibus with all three books of the trilogy. The table of contents has ‘roj_chap1’, ‘ani_chap1’ (“Anilyia” is the second book), and ‘ket_chap1’ (“Kethril” is the third book).
Creating the links
Now it’s time to hyperlink the table of contents to the chapter. Select ‘Chapter 1” in the table of contents, go to the insert tab and click on ‘Hyperlink’
You will get a screen like this:
On the left, you want to ‘Link to:’ “Place in this Document”. That will bring up your bookmarks. Select ‘roj_chap1’ (or whatever you call your chapter 1) and click OK. That will make your blue hyperlinky Chapter 1 in the table of contents.
If you click on it, it will take you to the beginning of chapter 1. Repeat this step for every chapter and you will have a working table of contents. You can do the same thing for your maps too. Select the map, the same way you did the chapter and add a bookmark to it. I name mine ‘map_ryallon’. Then hyperlink ‘Map of Ryallon’ in the Table of Contents (or whatever you call your map.
Linking your chapters back to the Table of Contents.
This is a wonderful tool for the reader to get back to the beginning of the book, especially if they want to be able to glance at the map and then return back to the chapter they’re on.
For this, you want to select the Chapter 1 heading and select hyperlink:
This time, select ‘ref_TOC’ as the place to link it to. That will link it back to the Table of Contents. You can do this with every chapter. You get an underlined chapter heading. (It’s purple now instead of blue because I’ve clicked on them)
Hidden bookmarks.
I discovered that clicking on hyperlinks within a document creates hidden bookmarks, like this:
The ‘Hlt…….’ Bookmarks are the hidden ones. They are unnecessary and take up extra space, so before I publish, I always delete all of those.
In conclusion.
So that’s the basics. If you want to test the links, just press shift and left click the mouse. This works wonderfully on the Kindle Touch and Fire, which I’ve been able to test. I hope this helps for you too.
Here are the links to Rojuun:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31154?ref=johnhcarroll
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TXS0DI
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004TXS0DIApple: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rojuun/id409277486?mt=11# B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rojuun-john-h-carroll/1029147189 Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/john-h-carroll/rojuun/_/R-400000000000000323599Kobo: htthttp://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Rojuun/book-qoUvjfK78E-zViTlQf76Rg/page1.html?s=jgljIw3vyUShPcEYVypfdg&r=8Diesel: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000031154/Carroll-John-H./Rojuun/1.html
All my best,
John H. Carroll
This is how I make my table of contents for Smashwords and Amazon. If you would like to see how they work, you can download my first novel “Rojuun” for free. (links at the bottom of this tutorial)
I would like to note that this is how I do it, but there is another way that uses styles to create different types of chapter headings, but it’s not something I’ve had success with. I’d say there’s more than one way to skin a cat, but that’s just mean and my children will beat me up if I do. This is a tutorial on how I do it.
Table of Contents
Here is a screenshot of what my hyperlinked table of contents looks like in my first novel. As you can see, all the chapters have the blue, underlined hyperlinky effect. (That is the official term)
You may notice that it says “Compatibility Mode” at the top of the document. Smashwords doesn’t play well with Word 2007 and 2010, so I save everything as a Word 97-2003 document. I’m using Word 2010, but I originally did this with Word 2003. The process is the same, but Word 2010 has that ribbon thingy Bill Gates is so proud of at the top.
I like the left aligned table as shown here. You could center it if you like, it’s a personal choice. You’ll notice that I have my maps on there too. If you have maps, I highly recommend it.
Okay, so now we get to how to make all of this.
Make a Table of Contents.
We’ll start with this:
Nothing is hyperlinked, just written out.
Bookmarks
The first thing you want to do is create a bookmark. Select “Table of Contents” and then go to your ‘Insert’ tab. Click on ‘Bookmark’ in that ribbon:
and you will get a screen like this:
Type in ref_TOC Then click “Add” It is important to name it exactly that, because that’s what Smashwords Meatgrinder looks for. I have this in all of my books with a table of contents.
Okay, the next thing you want to do is make a chapter 1. We’ll make it 16pt font, centered and bold.
Now it’s time to bookmark “Chapter 1” Do it exactly the same way, but let’s name it roj_chap1. The ‘roj’ stands for rojuun. The ‘_’ is because you can’t use spaces in bookmarks. The ‘chap1” is because it’s chapter 1. The reason I name it ‘roj_chap1’ instead of just ‘chapter1’ is because “Rojuun” is the first book of a trilogy. I sell an omnibus with all three books of the trilogy. The table of contents has ‘roj_chap1’, ‘ani_chap1’ (“Anilyia” is the second book), and ‘ket_chap1’ (“Kethril” is the third book).
Creating the links
Now it’s time to hyperlink the table of contents to the chapter. Select ‘Chapter 1” in the table of contents, go to the insert tab and click on ‘Hyperlink’
You will get a screen like this:
On the left, you want to ‘Link to:’ “Place in this Document”. That will bring up your bookmarks. Select ‘roj_chap1’ (or whatever you call your chapter 1) and click OK. That will make your blue hyperlinky Chapter 1 in the table of contents.
If you click on it, it will take you to the beginning of chapter 1. Repeat this step for every chapter and you will have a working table of contents. You can do the same thing for your maps too. Select the map, the same way you did the chapter and add a bookmark to it. I name mine ‘map_ryallon’. Then hyperlink ‘Map of Ryallon’ in the Table of Contents (or whatever you call your map.
Linking your chapters back to the Table of Contents.
This is a wonderful tool for the reader to get back to the beginning of the book, especially if they want to be able to glance at the map and then return back to the chapter they’re on.
For this, you want to select the Chapter 1 heading and select hyperlink:
This time, select ‘ref_TOC’ as the place to link it to. That will link it back to the Table of Contents. You can do this with every chapter. You get an underlined chapter heading. (It’s purple now instead of blue because I’ve clicked on them)
Hidden bookmarks.
I discovered that clicking on hyperlinks within a document creates hidden bookmarks, like this:
The ‘Hlt…….’ Bookmarks are the hidden ones. They are unnecessary and take up extra space, so before I publish, I always delete all of those.
In conclusion.
So that’s the basics. If you want to test the links, just press shift and left click the mouse. This works wonderfully on the Kindle Touch and Fire, which I’ve been able to test. I hope this helps for you too.
Here are the links to Rojuun:
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31154?ref=johnhcarroll
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004TXS0DI
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004TXS0DIApple: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/rojuun/id409277486?mt=11# B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rojuun-john-h-carroll/1029147189 Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/john-h-carroll/rojuun/_/R-400000000000000323599Kobo: htthttp://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Rojuun/book-qoUvjfK78E-zViTlQf76Rg/page1.html?s=jgljIw3vyUShPcEYVypfdg&r=8Diesel: http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000031154/Carroll-John-H./Rojuun/1.html
All my best,
John H. Carroll
March 14, 2012
Hello all,
I've been rather quiet lately, so I decided it would be nice to let you know what I'm doing and what to expect this year.
At the moment I'm doing a community play with my wife and son. It's a good way to spend time with them and something I kinda enjoy doing, although it interferes with my writing time. *sigh* I do love performing the play in front of an audience though.
Novels
As far as my fantasy novels set in the world of Ryallon go, I've finished the fifth book, "Ebudae". It's currently undergoing edits and I plan to publish it in late May/Early June. My three beta readers have given it rave reviews and tell me it's my best work yet. The character Ebudae is a young wizardess with ability beyond her years and a natural toughness. She's the sort of person who will save herself before ever letting a knight in shining armor do so.
I haven't started the next book, "Pelya", but I know how it's going to go. Memorizing lines takes up the same parts of my mind as writing does, so I can't begin until after the play. I'm guessing I'll have the first draft finished in July and publish it in December or January.
I also have the next trilogy (books 7-9) plotted out. I know the overall plot as well as the basic plots for each of the books. I can't wait to write them. :) I'm hoping to publish all of them in 2013.
Short stories
I have ideas for my Demented Children series, but no plans to write one at the moment. Currently, I have 8 short stories I give away for free and only 6 books I sell, so I'd like to reach balance on them. However, the Demented Children series is very popular and I intend to write many more in the years to come. In addition, I have other stories kicking about in the back of my mind that I may put on paper if inspired.
The best news is that illustrations for "The Emo Bunny that Should" are nearly done. I also plan to go through and do another edit to the story to make certain it's perfect and easy to read. We're hoping for an Easter release. The artwork is beautiful and I can't wait for you to see it. Here's a sample of the latest:
Copyright 2012 Arlene Rose
I'm going to sell the illustrated version for $5.99 I believe it's a good value for an illustrated children's book. I'll keep the text-only version free.
Editing
At the moment, I'm going through and re-editing the Willden Trilogy. A few reviews have mentioned that I over-describe things and that the books are too wordy. I began looking at "Kethril", my third book, and found it to be true.
When I began editing it this time, I discovered that I had way too many descriptions of details that didn't advance the story and, in fact, distracted from the story. I'm halfway through this edit and I've deleted 10,000 words from the total 123,000 original length.
I have to tell you that I'm appalled by this and I apologize to all of you who've read it so far. What's extraordinary is that the story is still exactly the same even without those words. They added nothing to the story.
I ask that you forgive me for them though. The reviews have also mentioned that the books are enjoyable to read and the characters wonderful. With these new edits, it should speed the reading experience and improve the enjoyment of the characters. I'm doing "Anilyia" and "Rojuun" next.
I'm also learning a great deal in this process. My fourth and fifth books are much leaner and faster reads. I'll apply my new knowledge to the upcoming books to make them even better. :)
In Conclusion
I promise that I'm doing my best to provide you with the highest quality writing I can provide. I'm constantly working to improve and learning how to master all the tools of my trade. Thank you for taking the time to read my stories and I hope that they provide you with great enjoyment. There will be many more to come. :)
All my best,
John H. Carroll
I've been rather quiet lately, so I decided it would be nice to let you know what I'm doing and what to expect this year.
At the moment I'm doing a community play with my wife and son. It's a good way to spend time with them and something I kinda enjoy doing, although it interferes with my writing time. *sigh* I do love performing the play in front of an audience though.
Novels
As far as my fantasy novels set in the world of Ryallon go, I've finished the fifth book, "Ebudae". It's currently undergoing edits and I plan to publish it in late May/Early June. My three beta readers have given it rave reviews and tell me it's my best work yet. The character Ebudae is a young wizardess with ability beyond her years and a natural toughness. She's the sort of person who will save herself before ever letting a knight in shining armor do so.
I haven't started the next book, "Pelya", but I know how it's going to go. Memorizing lines takes up the same parts of my mind as writing does, so I can't begin until after the play. I'm guessing I'll have the first draft finished in July and publish it in December or January.
I also have the next trilogy (books 7-9) plotted out. I know the overall plot as well as the basic plots for each of the books. I can't wait to write them. :) I'm hoping to publish all of them in 2013.
Short stories
I have ideas for my Demented Children series, but no plans to write one at the moment. Currently, I have 8 short stories I give away for free and only 6 books I sell, so I'd like to reach balance on them. However, the Demented Children series is very popular and I intend to write many more in the years to come. In addition, I have other stories kicking about in the back of my mind that I may put on paper if inspired.
The best news is that illustrations for "The Emo Bunny that Should" are nearly done. I also plan to go through and do another edit to the story to make certain it's perfect and easy to read. We're hoping for an Easter release. The artwork is beautiful and I can't wait for you to see it. Here's a sample of the latest:
Copyright 2012 Arlene RoseI'm going to sell the illustrated version for $5.99 I believe it's a good value for an illustrated children's book. I'll keep the text-only version free.
Editing
At the moment, I'm going through and re-editing the Willden Trilogy. A few reviews have mentioned that I over-describe things and that the books are too wordy. I began looking at "Kethril", my third book, and found it to be true.
When I began editing it this time, I discovered that I had way too many descriptions of details that didn't advance the story and, in fact, distracted from the story. I'm halfway through this edit and I've deleted 10,000 words from the total 123,000 original length.
I have to tell you that I'm appalled by this and I apologize to all of you who've read it so far. What's extraordinary is that the story is still exactly the same even without those words. They added nothing to the story.
I ask that you forgive me for them though. The reviews have also mentioned that the books are enjoyable to read and the characters wonderful. With these new edits, it should speed the reading experience and improve the enjoyment of the characters. I'm doing "Anilyia" and "Rojuun" next.
I'm also learning a great deal in this process. My fourth and fifth books are much leaner and faster reads. I'll apply my new knowledge to the upcoming books to make them even better. :)
In Conclusion
I promise that I'm doing my best to provide you with the highest quality writing I can provide. I'm constantly working to improve and learning how to master all the tools of my trade. Thank you for taking the time to read my stories and I hope that they provide you with great enjoyment. There will be many more to come. :)
All my best,
John H. Carroll
March 6, 2012
World Building
I mostly write fantasy and sci-fi books. One of the things I have to pay attention to is what things do I newly create and what things do I leave the same as people know them in this world? At the time of this blog post I'm writing in the world of Ryallon, where I base my fantasy series. Every once in a while, I'll share a little bit about the world building I do in the process.
When a person writes about something that happened in the past, it's wise to look at history books to get facts correct. When someone writes about a completely fictional world, all of the details need to be built from scratch.
World building can be fun. I'm certain there are a few would-be writers who have spent years building worlds of fantasy and magic, but have never gotten around to writing an actual book in the world. It's also very popular among D&D players.
Creating Religions
In fantasy, it is common to establish a fictional set of religions. Doing so can add great depth and definition to the characters and the people surrounding the characters. An understanding of historical theologies can greatly add to the richness and realism of these religions. It doesn't hurt to have read other novels with fictional religions either.
Before you begin, it's a good idea to have a general idea of how different people in your world think. There are usually many countries, though in fantasy it's possible to only have one. But do all of your people believe the same way? If you wish to have war in your worlds, multiple religions is one of the best ways to establish this.
One of the first things to consider is whether you want one god or many gods for your world. Has it been that way throughout the history of your world?
How they get their power is important. Are they powerful because they're gods? Did something give them power? One series I read, the Hawk and Fisher series by Simon R. Green, has gods gaining their power by the number of worshipers they have.
I have added the prologue of my fifth book, "Ebudae", below to give an example of how the Gods of Ryallon are set up.
An exerpt from "Ebudae"
While in thegloomy ruins of an ancient city below Dralin, Ebudae and Pelya had discovered atemple dedicated to an unknown god. Within that temple was a book most ancient. In spite of its age, the book was in perfectcondition with gold and silver-filigreed bindings.
The cover opened ofits own volition as the girls approached. Gazing upon pages that flipped before their mesmerized eyes, Ebudae andPelya understood every word with a clarity never experienced from any otherbook. Neither left until the last pagewas finished and the cover closed.
The mysterious book told how the Gods of Ryalloncame to be and a summary from it had remained sharp in the girl's minds fromthat point on:
Chaotic energies swirl around Ryallon andits moons, extending far beyond to other suns and worlds, though they do notexist everywhere. The energies give usmagic and shape the life of Ryallon, though they are not the source of life.
Those who we call Gods were once normalbeings. When those normal beings drankof the chaotic energies too deeply, they gained vast powers. There are many Gods on and around the worldof Ryallon. Some have great influenceand power while others touch few.
The most ancient Gods have existed sincebefore the beginning of humanity, but those are very odd to humans. They are called the Unreal Gods.
The earliest deities of humanity are the VanGods. The oldest and largest temples arebuilt to them in cities throughout Ryallon.
Others are new in the scheme of things, spawnedfrom people or creatures who attempt to control the chaotic energies. These are called the Crazed Gods, for when abeing absorbs vast power too quickly, it can destroy the mind. The Crazed Gods generally burn out and theirenergies spread back into the chaos. However, a few grow to power.
Less common are the Hushed Gods. It is unknown when they came to be, but manybelieve them to be as old as the Van Gods. They influence the world in subtle ways and have few followers. This does not mean their power should beunderestimated. Even Van Gods treat the Hushed Gods with great care.
And then there arethe Dragons. They are not Gods, but allGods fear them; for they are Dragons.
I mostly write fantasy and sci-fi books. One of the things I have to pay attention to is what things do I newly create and what things do I leave the same as people know them in this world? At the time of this blog post I'm writing in the world of Ryallon, where I base my fantasy series. Every once in a while, I'll share a little bit about the world building I do in the process.
When a person writes about something that happened in the past, it's wise to look at history books to get facts correct. When someone writes about a completely fictional world, all of the details need to be built from scratch.
World building can be fun. I'm certain there are a few would-be writers who have spent years building worlds of fantasy and magic, but have never gotten around to writing an actual book in the world. It's also very popular among D&D players.
Creating Religions
In fantasy, it is common to establish a fictional set of religions. Doing so can add great depth and definition to the characters and the people surrounding the characters. An understanding of historical theologies can greatly add to the richness and realism of these religions. It doesn't hurt to have read other novels with fictional religions either.
Before you begin, it's a good idea to have a general idea of how different people in your world think. There are usually many countries, though in fantasy it's possible to only have one. But do all of your people believe the same way? If you wish to have war in your worlds, multiple religions is one of the best ways to establish this.
One of the first things to consider is whether you want one god or many gods for your world. Has it been that way throughout the history of your world?
How they get their power is important. Are they powerful because they're gods? Did something give them power? One series I read, the Hawk and Fisher series by Simon R. Green, has gods gaining their power by the number of worshipers they have.
I have added the prologue of my fifth book, "Ebudae", below to give an example of how the Gods of Ryallon are set up.
An exerpt from "Ebudae"
While in thegloomy ruins of an ancient city below Dralin, Ebudae and Pelya had discovered atemple dedicated to an unknown god. Within that temple was a book most ancient. In spite of its age, the book was in perfectcondition with gold and silver-filigreed bindings.
The cover opened ofits own volition as the girls approached. Gazing upon pages that flipped before their mesmerized eyes, Ebudae andPelya understood every word with a clarity never experienced from any otherbook. Neither left until the last pagewas finished and the cover closed.
The mysterious book told how the Gods of Ryalloncame to be and a summary from it had remained sharp in the girl's minds fromthat point on:
Chaotic energies swirl around Ryallon andits moons, extending far beyond to other suns and worlds, though they do notexist everywhere. The energies give usmagic and shape the life of Ryallon, though they are not the source of life.
Those who we call Gods were once normalbeings. When those normal beings drankof the chaotic energies too deeply, they gained vast powers. There are many Gods on and around the worldof Ryallon. Some have great influenceand power while others touch few.
The most ancient Gods have existed sincebefore the beginning of humanity, but those are very odd to humans. They are called the Unreal Gods.
The earliest deities of humanity are the VanGods. The oldest and largest temples arebuilt to them in cities throughout Ryallon.
Others are new in the scheme of things, spawnedfrom people or creatures who attempt to control the chaotic energies. These are called the Crazed Gods, for when abeing absorbs vast power too quickly, it can destroy the mind. The Crazed Gods generally burn out and theirenergies spread back into the chaos. However, a few grow to power.
Less common are the Hushed Gods. It is unknown when they came to be, but manybelieve them to be as old as the Van Gods. They influence the world in subtle ways and have few followers. This does not mean their power should beunderestimated. Even Van Gods treat the Hushed Gods with great care.
And then there arethe Dragons. They are not Gods, but allGods fear them; for they are Dragons.
February 24, 2012
I have discovered the necessary steps for Indie Authors to become rich!
Keep in mind that I am not currently rich (I keep failing at step #5), so this is just theory. That said, I've been self-published for over a year now and have achieved small success. I've also paid close attention to how others have succeeded. In about 2-4 years, I will honestly be able to support myself with my writing (maybe sooner if step #5 happens)
1. Write something and publish it.
This is the obvious statement. Write something and submit it to Amazon, Smashwords, or wherever you like. The more places it's published, the more likely it is to get noticed.
Now, if you go straight to step #5, it doesn't even have to be good (It pains me to tell you that) I've seen books that have been published with a couple of pictures taken from a cell phone and a caption. It's ridiculous. I beg of you to write something worth reading.
2. Make it interesting.
This is my favorite part; a strength of mine. It's even more important than step #3 although maybe not as important as step #4. I like it better than step #4 though. (Nothing is as important as step #5. You can even skip step #1 and win the lottery if you have step #5, although you have to write something to be a rich Indie Author)
Writing an interesting story will draw people in and if one person tells others that it's interesting, you'll sell more. People are more likely to buy your next books too.
Write something fascinating. Take the reader on a journey into a new world. Make the reader stay up all night and call in sick to work the next day because they want to find out what happens in the end!
3. Make it good.
This is an odd statement, isn't it? Good is different than interesting. There are well-written books out there that have every word spelled correctly and punctuation precisely placed . . . and they're insanely boring to anyone with even the slightest imagination.
However, it's difficult to read an interesting story if the words are all spelled incorrectly.
4. Get as many people as you can to notice it.
AKA - Marketing and social networking. That's right. Facebook, twitter, blogs, review sites, your mother (If she buys the book, it's a sale. Don't underestimate how difficult this can be. If you do step #2, she may tell her bridge club.)
You can write the best book in the world, but if nobody knows about it, it won't sell. I won't belabor this point. Indie Authors have been agonizing over this to no end.
5. Get super lucky.
And here we get to the key, the one step that the writer doesn't have full control over. The degree to which you do the other steps is the degree to which you influence this one.
I've written and published 4 novels, 1 novella and 8 short stories (step #1). I have reviews that tell me that my stories are definitely interesting (step #2) and many that tell me they are well-written (step #3). There have been a few reviews that compare me to a teenager who should be failing English Lit. but I'm constantly trying to improve with each writing (step #6), And I'm letting people know about my books (step #4) so . . .
However, I have not gotten super lucky. And yes, I'm saying super lucky. I've been slightly fortunate here and there, but not super lucky. To sell a million books, your work has to be noticed by the right people at the right time. Those people have to like it and tell everyone else. Then everyone else has to take an interest in it.
If you want to become a rich Indie Author, you need to write and publish a book and then get super lucky. Everything else is optional.
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6. Repeat steps 1-4.
Okay, so step #5 isn't happening for you. Do it again. That's right. Write another story and publish it. I highly recommend applying steps #2 and #3. Too many people right now are trying to skip straight to #5 after doing #1. They put out a bunch of crap, making the rest of us look bad.
If you do steps #1, #2, #3, #4 and #6, then after a while you'll have a steady, income producing list of books. Get enough good, interesting books out there then you can make a living off of it even if you're not rich.
In Conclusion
As I said, I'm not rich (yet), but I have been actively doing all the steps except #5. As a result, I'm starting to supplement my income nicely. If I write two or three interesting, good books per year, I'll be supporting myself before long.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
Keep in mind that I am not currently rich (I keep failing at step #5), so this is just theory. That said, I've been self-published for over a year now and have achieved small success. I've also paid close attention to how others have succeeded. In about 2-4 years, I will honestly be able to support myself with my writing (maybe sooner if step #5 happens)
1. Write something and publish it.
This is the obvious statement. Write something and submit it to Amazon, Smashwords, or wherever you like. The more places it's published, the more likely it is to get noticed.
Now, if you go straight to step #5, it doesn't even have to be good (It pains me to tell you that) I've seen books that have been published with a couple of pictures taken from a cell phone and a caption. It's ridiculous. I beg of you to write something worth reading.
2. Make it interesting.
This is my favorite part; a strength of mine. It's even more important than step #3 although maybe not as important as step #4. I like it better than step #4 though. (Nothing is as important as step #5. You can even skip step #1 and win the lottery if you have step #5, although you have to write something to be a rich Indie Author)
Writing an interesting story will draw people in and if one person tells others that it's interesting, you'll sell more. People are more likely to buy your next books too.
Write something fascinating. Take the reader on a journey into a new world. Make the reader stay up all night and call in sick to work the next day because they want to find out what happens in the end!
3. Make it good.
This is an odd statement, isn't it? Good is different than interesting. There are well-written books out there that have every word spelled correctly and punctuation precisely placed . . . and they're insanely boring to anyone with even the slightest imagination.
However, it's difficult to read an interesting story if the words are all spelled incorrectly.
4. Get as many people as you can to notice it.
AKA - Marketing and social networking. That's right. Facebook, twitter, blogs, review sites, your mother (If she buys the book, it's a sale. Don't underestimate how difficult this can be. If you do step #2, she may tell her bridge club.)
You can write the best book in the world, but if nobody knows about it, it won't sell. I won't belabor this point. Indie Authors have been agonizing over this to no end.
5. Get super lucky.
And here we get to the key, the one step that the writer doesn't have full control over. The degree to which you do the other steps is the degree to which you influence this one.
I've written and published 4 novels, 1 novella and 8 short stories (step #1). I have reviews that tell me that my stories are definitely interesting (step #2) and many that tell me they are well-written (step #3). There have been a few reviews that compare me to a teenager who should be failing English Lit. but I'm constantly trying to improve with each writing (step #6), And I'm letting people know about my books (step #4) so . . .
However, I have not gotten super lucky. And yes, I'm saying super lucky. I've been slightly fortunate here and there, but not super lucky. To sell a million books, your work has to be noticed by the right people at the right time. Those people have to like it and tell everyone else. Then everyone else has to take an interest in it.
If you want to become a rich Indie Author, you need to write and publish a book and then get super lucky. Everything else is optional.
.jpg)
6. Repeat steps 1-4.
Okay, so step #5 isn't happening for you. Do it again. That's right. Write another story and publish it. I highly recommend applying steps #2 and #3. Too many people right now are trying to skip straight to #5 after doing #1. They put out a bunch of crap, making the rest of us look bad.
If you do steps #1, #2, #3, #4 and #6, then after a while you'll have a steady, income producing list of books. Get enough good, interesting books out there then you can make a living off of it even if you're not rich.
In Conclusion
As I said, I'm not rich (yet), but I have been actively doing all the steps except #5. As a result, I'm starting to supplement my income nicely. If I write two or three interesting, good books per year, I'll be supporting myself before long.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
February 17, 2012
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights is a D&D rpg (role playing game) created by Bioware in 2002. When they released it, they opened up their toolset to individual builders. Now there are over 6000 modules, many of which are better than the original campaign. The community still exists with people continuing to make modules and run Persistant Worlds, which are online multiplayer modules.
The toolset is fairly easy to use once learned. A lot of it is placing buildings and people for players to roam around in. The hardest part (for me) is scripting to make everything work. It's very close to writing computer programming language. I had a lot of help from the community, and especially from a friend named Mistress who runs her own persistant world called "Realms of Mythology"
These modules are uploaded to the Neverwinter Nights Vault where they can be accessed by everyone and played. Like Indie books, the quality of the module ranges from terrible to brilliant. I've made two modules and added some tools for other builders as well as helping on a Lexicon for builders.
Resurrection Gone Wrong
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=5597
Description Have you ever wondered what it would be like if YOU were suddenly transported to a fantasy world?
This module assumes that you are walking along through the local park and get stuck in a thunderstorm. You run for shelter when suddenly you experience an explosion of light and sound. You feel yourself falling and everything becomes dark.
When you wake up, you are in an unusual room with two oddly dressed ladies talking. You feel strange, as though your skin doesn't fit right. Then you begin to have a conversation with the two ladies. That's when things take a turn for the weird.
Try to survive in someone else's body in a D&D world. Can you get back? Is there some sort of dragon killing wand somewhere? Who the hell let all of these zombies roam around town anyway? This truly is a Resurrection Gone Wrong!
Building the module
I began this in 2005 and finished in 2006. It was extremely fun. The npcs that travel with the player are generally considered the high point of the module. There is a good amount of humor in it too. It has achieved hall of fame status on the NWN Vault which hosts modules.There is no pay for this. It's just something fun to do.
There are 44,570 words of dialogue in it.Screenshots from the game
Kitchen
Dancing 
Lizardfolk Thorpe 
Certificate of Zombification
Resurrection Gone Wronger, Romancing the Bob
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=6059
Description
Saving the world is hard. Saving yourself is harder.
In Resurrection Gone Wrong, you found yourself stuck in a fantasy world with magic and monsters. Three clerics agreed to work together to send you home. Zombie mush got on one of the scrolls and something went wrong. Now you are stuck on a fantasy world with danger and intrigue all around and only one rumor of a way back. What will you do with the rest of your life here?
Building the module
This is a continuation of Resurrection Gone Wrong, my first module. It's much more beautiful and the henchies are romanceable. It has over 330,000 words of dialogue which makes it the size of 3 full length novels, or the equivalent of the Willden Trilogy.
I wanted to try a lot of new things with this one. The scripting is a lot more advanced. A friend of mine helped me to learn a great deal about scripting to make things work. The result is an extremely efficient module.
Another thing that I improved upon was making the areas more interesting. I wanted to create a work of art and to a large degree I succeeded. Even though Neverwinter Nights was developed in 2001, the toolset still allows for a builder to create amazing areas. Beautiful areas were created for me by Fester Pot and Maddyanne. Mistress helped me with the scripting.
Replayability is something I didn't do well in the first module. In this one, it's probably overdone. There are 60 different endings possible . . . maybe a few more. I honestly don't remember. A person can play with any character or any alignment. It's sometimes more fun to play an evil character.
At first I made it completely open ended with no specific quest, but found that people lost interest rapidly when they didn't have a specific goal. I finally added a central quest. It's challenging, but not too much so.
My biggest strength is characters. Zombie Bob came back and there is a large quest related to him as well. Each of the characters has their own quest with the exception of Gothiya. I brought her in to guide the player to the main quest and also as a love interest.
The first module had a good deal of humor and this one is no different. There are several puns throughout that will make a person groan, but I also parody a lot of RPG stereotypes. 10 bards exist throughout the world, each with about 20 lines from different popular songs. Nobody's ever taken up the challenge to figure them out though. *sigh*
Overall, it was a real learning experience with this module. I stopped working on them after this in order to concentrate on my writing. I don't think I would be as good of a writer without it though. :)
Neverwinter Nights is a D&D rpg (role playing game) created by Bioware in 2002. When they released it, they opened up their toolset to individual builders. Now there are over 6000 modules, many of which are better than the original campaign. The community still exists with people continuing to make modules and run Persistant Worlds, which are online multiplayer modules.
The toolset is fairly easy to use once learned. A lot of it is placing buildings and people for players to roam around in. The hardest part (for me) is scripting to make everything work. It's very close to writing computer programming language. I had a lot of help from the community, and especially from a friend named Mistress who runs her own persistant world called "Realms of Mythology"
These modules are uploaded to the Neverwinter Nights Vault where they can be accessed by everyone and played. Like Indie books, the quality of the module ranges from terrible to brilliant. I've made two modules and added some tools for other builders as well as helping on a Lexicon for builders.
Resurrection Gone Wrong
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=5597
Description Have you ever wondered what it would be like if YOU were suddenly transported to a fantasy world?
This module assumes that you are walking along through the local park and get stuck in a thunderstorm. You run for shelter when suddenly you experience an explosion of light and sound. You feel yourself falling and everything becomes dark.
When you wake up, you are in an unusual room with two oddly dressed ladies talking. You feel strange, as though your skin doesn't fit right. Then you begin to have a conversation with the two ladies. That's when things take a turn for the weird.
Try to survive in someone else's body in a D&D world. Can you get back? Is there some sort of dragon killing wand somewhere? Who the hell let all of these zombies roam around town anyway? This truly is a Resurrection Gone Wrong!
Building the module
I began this in 2005 and finished in 2006. It was extremely fun. The npcs that travel with the player are generally considered the high point of the module. There is a good amount of humor in it too. It has achieved hall of fame status on the NWN Vault which hosts modules.There is no pay for this. It's just something fun to do.
There are 44,570 words of dialogue in it.Screenshots from the game
Kitchen
Dancing Lizardfolk Thorpe Certificate of Zombification Resurrection Gone Wronger, Romancing the Bob
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Modules.Detail&id=6059
Description
Saving the world is hard. Saving yourself is harder.
In Resurrection Gone Wrong, you found yourself stuck in a fantasy world with magic and monsters. Three clerics agreed to work together to send you home. Zombie mush got on one of the scrolls and something went wrong. Now you are stuck on a fantasy world with danger and intrigue all around and only one rumor of a way back. What will you do with the rest of your life here?
Building the module
This is a continuation of Resurrection Gone Wrong, my first module. It's much more beautiful and the henchies are romanceable. It has over 330,000 words of dialogue which makes it the size of 3 full length novels, or the equivalent of the Willden Trilogy.
I wanted to try a lot of new things with this one. The scripting is a lot more advanced. A friend of mine helped me to learn a great deal about scripting to make things work. The result is an extremely efficient module.
Another thing that I improved upon was making the areas more interesting. I wanted to create a work of art and to a large degree I succeeded. Even though Neverwinter Nights was developed in 2001, the toolset still allows for a builder to create amazing areas. Beautiful areas were created for me by Fester Pot and Maddyanne. Mistress helped me with the scripting.
Replayability is something I didn't do well in the first module. In this one, it's probably overdone. There are 60 different endings possible . . . maybe a few more. I honestly don't remember. A person can play with any character or any alignment. It's sometimes more fun to play an evil character.
At first I made it completely open ended with no specific quest, but found that people lost interest rapidly when they didn't have a specific goal. I finally added a central quest. It's challenging, but not too much so.
My biggest strength is characters. Zombie Bob came back and there is a large quest related to him as well. Each of the characters has their own quest with the exception of Gothiya. I brought her in to guide the player to the main quest and also as a love interest.
The first module had a good deal of humor and this one is no different. There are several puns throughout that will make a person groan, but I also parody a lot of RPG stereotypes. 10 bards exist throughout the world, each with about 20 lines from different popular songs. Nobody's ever taken up the challenge to figure them out though. *sigh*
Overall, it was a real learning experience with this module. I stopped working on them after this in order to concentrate on my writing. I don't think I would be as good of a writer without it though. :)
February 9, 2012
Why I wrote this poem
My wife and I have been through a lot of hard times together and have always managed to make it through. During this period, we were doing a little better. My wife and I were able to buy some newer clothes and she could get her nails and hair done. She liked looking good and was gaining confidence in her appearance to go along with growing confidence in herself.
It was important to acknowledge how wonderful she had always been and how much I appreciate her. I debated whether or not to share this, but I like showing everyone these things. My wife doesn't mind. She's thrilled whenever I write a poem and she likes that I show others how we feel about each other.
It's Been a While, Hasn't It?
Hello, my LoveIt's been a while hasn't it?It's been a while since I've written you a poemIt's been a while since I've told you exactly how much I love you
I know that I tell you I love you a few times a dayI even remember to tell you how beautiful you are sometimesSometimes I'll kiss you a little longerSometimes I'll look in your eyes a little deeper
But it's been a while since I've written you a poemThe kind that lets you know how wonderful you truly areThe kind that lets you know how beautiful I find youThe kind that lets you know that I'm the luckiest man in the world
You make an amazing difference in my lifeWhen I'm not with you, I don't feel rightI feel as though there is an emptiness next to meI even panic a little inside if you go too far away
I love looking at you every dayLately you've taken more pride in yourself and your appearanceYou used to be afraid to let people see youNow you shine like a beacon to those around you
I don't think you realize that you have become a pillar in your communityI don't think you realize that others look to you for advice and stabilityYou have become a confident womanI don't think you realize that others feel inadequate around you
I am in awe of the self-assured woman you have becomeI know you do not always feel this wayI understand sometimes the ghosts of the past worry youI see the uncertainty of the future scares you at times
That is why you have meI will always be your safety in the stormI will be the rock that you can lean onI will be your partner through this life
It's been a while since I told you how much I love youI do, you knowI love you so very muchMy Love
I love waking up and hitting the snooze button and then cuddlingI love telling you to have a good dayI always think of calling you when I'm at workI jump whenever the phone rings hoping it's you
Is it silly to feel that way after all these years?Isn't that the way new lovers are supposed to react?I can't help it thoughI always want to be with you
I love sitting next to you with our family around usWe really are a good family you knowI find myself filled with joy when I look at our childrenI think it's wonderful they are loved and live good lives
It feels as though it should be easy to take us for grantedEverything seems so natural when we are togetherOur marriage and our family feel so rightYet every day I find myself in awe that we are living so well
I know we have trials ahead of usI know we are going to make some changes in our livesBut I look forward to making them with youI feel that together, we can do anything
So, it's been a whileI'm telling you nowI love you, I always willMy love
Happy Valentines Day
Copyright 2007 John H. Carroll
My wife and I have been through a lot of hard times together and have always managed to make it through. During this period, we were doing a little better. My wife and I were able to buy some newer clothes and she could get her nails and hair done. She liked looking good and was gaining confidence in her appearance to go along with growing confidence in herself.
It was important to acknowledge how wonderful she had always been and how much I appreciate her. I debated whether or not to share this, but I like showing everyone these things. My wife doesn't mind. She's thrilled whenever I write a poem and she likes that I show others how we feel about each other.
It's Been a While, Hasn't It?
Hello, my LoveIt's been a while hasn't it?It's been a while since I've written you a poemIt's been a while since I've told you exactly how much I love you
I know that I tell you I love you a few times a dayI even remember to tell you how beautiful you are sometimesSometimes I'll kiss you a little longerSometimes I'll look in your eyes a little deeper
But it's been a while since I've written you a poemThe kind that lets you know how wonderful you truly areThe kind that lets you know how beautiful I find youThe kind that lets you know that I'm the luckiest man in the world
You make an amazing difference in my lifeWhen I'm not with you, I don't feel rightI feel as though there is an emptiness next to meI even panic a little inside if you go too far away
I love looking at you every dayLately you've taken more pride in yourself and your appearanceYou used to be afraid to let people see youNow you shine like a beacon to those around you
I don't think you realize that you have become a pillar in your communityI don't think you realize that others look to you for advice and stabilityYou have become a confident womanI don't think you realize that others feel inadequate around you
I am in awe of the self-assured woman you have becomeI know you do not always feel this wayI understand sometimes the ghosts of the past worry youI see the uncertainty of the future scares you at times
That is why you have meI will always be your safety in the stormI will be the rock that you can lean onI will be your partner through this life
It's been a while since I told you how much I love youI do, you knowI love you so very muchMy Love
I love waking up and hitting the snooze button and then cuddlingI love telling you to have a good dayI always think of calling you when I'm at workI jump whenever the phone rings hoping it's you
Is it silly to feel that way after all these years?Isn't that the way new lovers are supposed to react?I can't help it thoughI always want to be with you
I love sitting next to you with our family around usWe really are a good family you knowI find myself filled with joy when I look at our childrenI think it's wonderful they are loved and live good lives
It feels as though it should be easy to take us for grantedEverything seems so natural when we are togetherOur marriage and our family feel so rightYet every day I find myself in awe that we are living so well
I know we have trials ahead of usI know we are going to make some changes in our livesBut I look forward to making them with youI feel that together, we can do anything
So, it's been a whileI'm telling you nowI love you, I always willMy love
Happy Valentines Day
Copyright 2007 John H. Carroll
February 5, 2012
Introduction
World building is a subject I'm extremely interested in. When writing series of books, it becomes vital to get the details right. It's also one of the hardest things to do, especially when things get tense in the story. That's when having your facts straight matters the most.
I've invited fellow Indie Author D Kai Wilson-Viola to write a guest blog and she presented me with an exceptional piece.
World building and tense situations My stories always start with some sort of major problem. Whether that's where they actually start once they've been edited and put together is a different story, but that's where everything starts for me.
Which, to be honest, makes world building both a bit difficult, and a lot liberating.My first novel is out on the 12th of February, and is the first in upwards of 50 novels set in the universe I've built around my detective and his two friends. So, John asked me to come talk 'world building' and give some tips on how I manage it all. And I've got three absolutely amazing tips to share. World building so you're not changing canon Though, before I go there, I'd better explain canon. I don't mean the things firing balls of lead at castles or pirate ships – I mean canon. That sacred bible of what is – and isn't – in your world. It is, as far as I can tell, something I picked up in my fan fiction days – the idea that something could be canon or non-canon. And the idea that if you screw up your own canon, your most obsessive fans (and we all get them) can call you on it, and complain. So, having your own world building straight is a must. It's also essential for other reasons – if you're not sure of your own world, others will struggle, especially when consistency will give you the chance to really use the world around the characters, for or against them. Basically, your world could almost be its own character, if you use it right. With that in mind though, I've got three tips.1) Keep your own bible – I use software to track mine, but before I discovered the items that I use (there's two – a wiki/database based piece and Liquid Story Binder, which is a kind of folio system for writers), I had folders and key sheets. It might feel like hard work, but if you're building a world that has persistence, you need to track scars, and dates and where everything goes. Elliot Peters, my main character goes from being pretty much unscarred to picking up several over the course of four books, and I have to remember whether he's got them or not by (x) point. The easiest way to do so is to keep a timeline, with a master sheet that documents scars. I've found the front/back images that are http://www.docstoc.com/docs/72398109/Injury-Chart here work well - but you might have other ideas. Every three books, I update that, especially if I've stopped writing in the period beforehand, and ensure that anything I've finalised is included.2) Update regularly – It's easy to get wrapped up in the tiny details of keeping the 'bible' updated for your world, but if you don't do maintenance, it's kinda like tax receipts – it'll take forever, and you'll hate it. I update mine once a week when doing 'other paperwork' like billing, so it's kind of part of my maintenance tasks. If your world is consistent, you'll need to do it less, and eventually, you'll only need to keep track of the changes.3) Little things matter too – even in tense situations, if you can give a 'call back' to something that was mentioned in another book, you show not only mastery but immersion in your own universe, which, in turn leads readers to trust you. And reader trust is what invests them in books more than the most skilful writing ever can. If there's no trust there, no matter how beautiful your writing, readers will resist and you'll be stuck with a perfectly crafted book that no one cares about enough to engage with.Once you've got the basics of world building down, you'll find it much easier to do it again and again – so even if you finish up one series, you can use what you've learned to build your next world and your next. And then, when you toss them in at the deep end, you know how deep and where the escape hatch is.
D Kai Wilson-Viola's debut novel, Glass Block (http://glassblock.darknesspd.com) is due out February 12th. A copywriter and editor by trade, she's been serving the indie community as an advisor for years. You can follow Kai on Facebook (http://facebook.com/Dkaiwilsonviola), Twitter (http://twitter.com/Kaiberie), at her own blog (http://authorinterrupted.com) or at Author Central after February 12th.
World building is a subject I'm extremely interested in. When writing series of books, it becomes vital to get the details right. It's also one of the hardest things to do, especially when things get tense in the story. That's when having your facts straight matters the most.
I've invited fellow Indie Author D Kai Wilson-Viola to write a guest blog and she presented me with an exceptional piece.
World building and tense situations My stories always start with some sort of major problem. Whether that's where they actually start once they've been edited and put together is a different story, but that's where everything starts for me.
Which, to be honest, makes world building both a bit difficult, and a lot liberating.My first novel is out on the 12th of February, and is the first in upwards of 50 novels set in the universe I've built around my detective and his two friends. So, John asked me to come talk 'world building' and give some tips on how I manage it all. And I've got three absolutely amazing tips to share. World building so you're not changing canon Though, before I go there, I'd better explain canon. I don't mean the things firing balls of lead at castles or pirate ships – I mean canon. That sacred bible of what is – and isn't – in your world. It is, as far as I can tell, something I picked up in my fan fiction days – the idea that something could be canon or non-canon. And the idea that if you screw up your own canon, your most obsessive fans (and we all get them) can call you on it, and complain. So, having your own world building straight is a must. It's also essential for other reasons – if you're not sure of your own world, others will struggle, especially when consistency will give you the chance to really use the world around the characters, for or against them. Basically, your world could almost be its own character, if you use it right. With that in mind though, I've got three tips.1) Keep your own bible – I use software to track mine, but before I discovered the items that I use (there's two – a wiki/database based piece and Liquid Story Binder, which is a kind of folio system for writers), I had folders and key sheets. It might feel like hard work, but if you're building a world that has persistence, you need to track scars, and dates and where everything goes. Elliot Peters, my main character goes from being pretty much unscarred to picking up several over the course of four books, and I have to remember whether he's got them or not by (x) point. The easiest way to do so is to keep a timeline, with a master sheet that documents scars. I've found the front/back images that are http://www.docstoc.com/docs/72398109/Injury-Chart here work well - but you might have other ideas. Every three books, I update that, especially if I've stopped writing in the period beforehand, and ensure that anything I've finalised is included.2) Update regularly – It's easy to get wrapped up in the tiny details of keeping the 'bible' updated for your world, but if you don't do maintenance, it's kinda like tax receipts – it'll take forever, and you'll hate it. I update mine once a week when doing 'other paperwork' like billing, so it's kind of part of my maintenance tasks. If your world is consistent, you'll need to do it less, and eventually, you'll only need to keep track of the changes.3) Little things matter too – even in tense situations, if you can give a 'call back' to something that was mentioned in another book, you show not only mastery but immersion in your own universe, which, in turn leads readers to trust you. And reader trust is what invests them in books more than the most skilful writing ever can. If there's no trust there, no matter how beautiful your writing, readers will resist and you'll be stuck with a perfectly crafted book that no one cares about enough to engage with.Once you've got the basics of world building down, you'll find it much easier to do it again and again – so even if you finish up one series, you can use what you've learned to build your next world and your next. And then, when you toss them in at the deep end, you know how deep and where the escape hatch is.
D Kai Wilson-Viola's debut novel, Glass Block (http://glassblock.darknesspd.com) is due out February 12th. A copywriter and editor by trade, she's been serving the indie community as an advisor for years. You can follow Kai on Facebook (http://facebook.com/Dkaiwilsonviola), Twitter (http://twitter.com/Kaiberie), at her own blog (http://authorinterrupted.com) or at Author Central after February 12th.
February 2, 2012
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January 30, 2012
World Building
I mostly write fantasy and sci-fi books. One of the things I have to pay attention to is what things do I newly create and what things do I leave the same as people know them in this world? At the time of this blog post I'm writing in the world of Ryallon, where I base my fantasy series. Every once in a while, I'll share a little bit about the world building I do in the process.
When a person writes about something that happened in the past, it's wise to look at history books to get facts correct. When someone writes about a completely fictional world, all of the details need to be built from scratch.
World building can be fun. I'm certain there are a few would-be writers who have spent years building worlds of fantasy and magic, but have never gotten around to writing an actual book in the world. It's also very popular among D&D players.
Describing a scene
One of the things I have to pay attention to is what things do I newly create and what things do I leave the same as people know them in this world?
I just gave one of the characters a mug of cool cider with a stick of cinnamon. It helps the reader understand what the character is sensing at that moment. But remember that this is a fantasy word, different from Planet Earth. It brings to mind the question of whether or not that world would have cinnamon, cider or even mugs!
So I have to decide whether or not to make a new kind of drink or import something from Earth. In this instance, I use the Earth descriptions because I would waste paragraphs explaining all the details of a newly imagined drink and spice to put in it. By the time I was done, the reader would have realized that it was the equivalent of cider with cinnamon. The point of that scene is to describe the character's environment, which is sitting in the kitchen of an inn. Creating a new drink would not advance the story or future stories, so I used the Earth norm in that case.
Areas where I've decided to create new things
There are many areas in the world where I've added a new item not found on Earth. This helps add to the flavor of things and lets the reader know they're in a new, fantastic land. The key is to balance what's new and what's normal and it's hard to do.
In the second book of the Willden Trilogy, I created a whole new underground ecosystem that ended up being a couple of chapters of information dumping that I think detracted from the story-telling. However, I'm a new writer and much of this is a learning experience. It's also really neat to come up with some of these ideas.
Some of the things I've created or changed from Earth normal are:
Rojuun. This is not only the title of the first book, it's a race of four-armed, two-voiced sentient beings that live in the vast tunnels of the world.
The vast tunnels of the world. I've made it so that the crust of Ryallon is honeycombed with caverns, tunnels and underground bodies of water. I also added an entire ecosystem of plants and animals to live in it. Most things are luminescent to create light to see by. This was done partially because it was cool and largely because I wanted my characters to be able to see without carrying torches everywhere.
I've made the world bigger to compensate for dragons and numerous ancient civilizations.
A system of magic. There are aspects that are borrowed from other things I've read and aspects that are new. An arcane wind affects only the caster of a spell. Runes are used in magical items to store the magic on it. Casting spells takes energy, which requires a mage to sleep for long periods of time and eat large quantities of food. One of my favorites is that magic leaves behind pollution, much like science does.
Eye color. This is one of my favorites. Humans can have pink or grey eyes as standard colors. It adds to the fantasy atmosphere of the world in a cool way that excites the reader (it excites me anyway!)
Dragonflies are dragon's tears. They start out silver and gain color from the first thing they touch after hitting the ground.
There are numerous other little touches that let the reader know that they're in a fantasy world, but I try to make them as unobtrusive as possible.
Areas where I've kept things the same
There have been numerous instances where I've used Earth items for description because it would have distracted from the story to replace them. It's a little disconcerting as a writer to create this entire alien planet and have pine trees, tea and cinnamon in it when everything would probably be vastly different in reality, but it has to be done.
I also draw on earth mythology and history to create some of the aspects of the world. Dragons and Druids are a big thing. I avoid going completely D&D by leaving out elves, dwarves, orcs and many of the other denizens of role-playing games.
Things I've left the same that many people may not consider while reading are:
Animals such as wolves, butterflies, most species of trees, grass, flowers (including types of flowers like roses), birds above ground, deer, rats (a must for any city).
Materials like wood, brick, glass, leather, cotton, wool, silk, steel, iron, brass, gold, silver and copper. This includes the processes to refine them, such as smithing, tailoring and tanning.
Monetary values. Gems and jewelry are very valuable as is land. Gold, silver and copper are standard currency and rural areas use barter systems for the most part.
Weather is the same. Most readers never consider this, but it's something that's often changed in sci-fi worlds where everything can be alien.
Dragons and magic exist, but they have unique traits that make them distinctive to Ryallon.
Time is . . . similar. I use days, minutes, hours and seconds. Most readers never even consider this subject. I have never defined how long the days, weeks, months and years are though. I haven't decided! It seems like an odd oversight, but I simply don't know and I'm not willing to commit to it. I honestly don't think any reader has ever noticed this fact without me pointing it out.
In conclusion
It's difficult at times to decide what ingredients to add to a world of fantasy. The key is for the reader to be fascinated by the new things without being jolted out of the story.
I mostly write fantasy and sci-fi books. One of the things I have to pay attention to is what things do I newly create and what things do I leave the same as people know them in this world? At the time of this blog post I'm writing in the world of Ryallon, where I base my fantasy series. Every once in a while, I'll share a little bit about the world building I do in the process.
When a person writes about something that happened in the past, it's wise to look at history books to get facts correct. When someone writes about a completely fictional world, all of the details need to be built from scratch.
World building can be fun. I'm certain there are a few would-be writers who have spent years building worlds of fantasy and magic, but have never gotten around to writing an actual book in the world. It's also very popular among D&D players.
Describing a scene
One of the things I have to pay attention to is what things do I newly create and what things do I leave the same as people know them in this world?
I just gave one of the characters a mug of cool cider with a stick of cinnamon. It helps the reader understand what the character is sensing at that moment. But remember that this is a fantasy word, different from Planet Earth. It brings to mind the question of whether or not that world would have cinnamon, cider or even mugs!
So I have to decide whether or not to make a new kind of drink or import something from Earth. In this instance, I use the Earth descriptions because I would waste paragraphs explaining all the details of a newly imagined drink and spice to put in it. By the time I was done, the reader would have realized that it was the equivalent of cider with cinnamon. The point of that scene is to describe the character's environment, which is sitting in the kitchen of an inn. Creating a new drink would not advance the story or future stories, so I used the Earth norm in that case.
Areas where I've decided to create new things
There are many areas in the world where I've added a new item not found on Earth. This helps add to the flavor of things and lets the reader know they're in a new, fantastic land. The key is to balance what's new and what's normal and it's hard to do.
In the second book of the Willden Trilogy, I created a whole new underground ecosystem that ended up being a couple of chapters of information dumping that I think detracted from the story-telling. However, I'm a new writer and much of this is a learning experience. It's also really neat to come up with some of these ideas.
Some of the things I've created or changed from Earth normal are:
Rojuun. This is not only the title of the first book, it's a race of four-armed, two-voiced sentient beings that live in the vast tunnels of the world.
The vast tunnels of the world. I've made it so that the crust of Ryallon is honeycombed with caverns, tunnels and underground bodies of water. I also added an entire ecosystem of plants and animals to live in it. Most things are luminescent to create light to see by. This was done partially because it was cool and largely because I wanted my characters to be able to see without carrying torches everywhere.
I've made the world bigger to compensate for dragons and numerous ancient civilizations.
A system of magic. There are aspects that are borrowed from other things I've read and aspects that are new. An arcane wind affects only the caster of a spell. Runes are used in magical items to store the magic on it. Casting spells takes energy, which requires a mage to sleep for long periods of time and eat large quantities of food. One of my favorites is that magic leaves behind pollution, much like science does.
Eye color. This is one of my favorites. Humans can have pink or grey eyes as standard colors. It adds to the fantasy atmosphere of the world in a cool way that excites the reader (it excites me anyway!)
Dragonflies are dragon's tears. They start out silver and gain color from the first thing they touch after hitting the ground.
There are numerous other little touches that let the reader know that they're in a fantasy world, but I try to make them as unobtrusive as possible.
Areas where I've kept things the same
There have been numerous instances where I've used Earth items for description because it would have distracted from the story to replace them. It's a little disconcerting as a writer to create this entire alien planet and have pine trees, tea and cinnamon in it when everything would probably be vastly different in reality, but it has to be done.
I also draw on earth mythology and history to create some of the aspects of the world. Dragons and Druids are a big thing. I avoid going completely D&D by leaving out elves, dwarves, orcs and many of the other denizens of role-playing games.
Things I've left the same that many people may not consider while reading are:
Animals such as wolves, butterflies, most species of trees, grass, flowers (including types of flowers like roses), birds above ground, deer, rats (a must for any city).
Materials like wood, brick, glass, leather, cotton, wool, silk, steel, iron, brass, gold, silver and copper. This includes the processes to refine them, such as smithing, tailoring and tanning.
Monetary values. Gems and jewelry are very valuable as is land. Gold, silver and copper are standard currency and rural areas use barter systems for the most part.
Weather is the same. Most readers never consider this, but it's something that's often changed in sci-fi worlds where everything can be alien.
Dragons and magic exist, but they have unique traits that make them distinctive to Ryallon.
Time is . . . similar. I use days, minutes, hours and seconds. Most readers never even consider this subject. I have never defined how long the days, weeks, months and years are though. I haven't decided! It seems like an odd oversight, but I simply don't know and I'm not willing to commit to it. I honestly don't think any reader has ever noticed this fact without me pointing it out.
In conclusion
It's difficult at times to decide what ingredients to add to a world of fantasy. The key is for the reader to be fascinated by the new things without being jolted out of the story.
